Vehicle-wheel.



H. E. STRAT TON. VEHICLE WHEEL. APPLIOATIQN FILED DEO.12, 1911.

1,049,418. PatentedJa n; 7, 1913.

INVENTD 5 m .VVITNEISSEIS;

l ATTn RN EYI.

HARPER E. s'rrmrron, or EMPIRE, OHIO.

, VEHICLE-WHEEL.

weenie, a

To all whomt may concern': I

Be it known that I,.HARPER E. STRATTON, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident 'of Empire, county of Jefferson, and State of Ohio, have invented ceriain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which the following is a specification. I

--'wheel which is adapted to effectively absorb road shocks due "to travel over rough or uneven surfaces thereby making it possible to dispense with the usual 'pneumat1c tire.

t A further object is to provide "a wheel embodying resilient metal spokes which are 50 mounted that they may be conveniently Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed December 12, 911.

" removed and replaced when occasion re-- 0 any of said quires, as in case of breakage when on the road, using only an ordinary wrench. And a still further object within the contemplation of the invention is to provide a wheel of the charactermentioned the parts" of .which shall have but little, if any, frictional movement upon each other and which, consequently, are subject to but little wear, thus etl'ectually preventing rattling of arts.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the features of con struction, arrangement of parts and combinations of-elements which will hereinafter be exemplified, reference being had to the accompanying. drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure .1 is a side elevation of a part of a symmetrical wheel; Fig 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1; li ig. 3 is a section taken generally on the line 3-3, Fig. 2, the

showing at the left of a central vertical line through said figure being that of a section taken centrally of the hub, and that attire 1i ht of such line being that of a section mien laterally of the center to show, the slots or recesses in the space-blocks; Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a spaceblock.

Referring to said drawings, in which like designating characters distinguish like. parts throughout the several views l indicates a metallicahub which maybe of; any appropriatefgeneraltype. Saidduub has spoke- --of the heads and nuts carried by Patented J an. 7,1913. serial No. 665,289.

receiving recesses formed therein which are separated by relatively thin radial longitudinally-extending ribs 2.

Spokes 3 consisting of fiat resilient bow- Shaped strips of metal, preferably sprino: steel, are arranged in oppositely disposed pairs which have their inner ends received in adjacent recesses in the hub and against the opposite faces of the ribs 4. Said ends are connected in fixed relation to each other and'to the hub by means of bolts 4 directed through said ends and through said intervening rib 2. The outer ends of the spokes composing a pair are received against the opposite faces of the radially directed stem 6 of a substantially T-shaped plate or cast-- ing 7, being secured to said stem by means of bolts 10, as shown. The castings 7 are .rigidly attache-d to the rim orfelly 9 by means of bolts 8. a

lVedge-shaped blocks 11, preferably of wood, are mounted in the recesses in the .liub to fill up the spaces intervening be tween adjacentvpairs of spokes, shown in Fig. 3. Said blocks 12 in their opposite faces for as is clearly the reception the bolts ehthe grooves of each block extending along said faces from the inner edge of the block have grooves to a point which will just allow of the insertion of the block to seating position with;

out encountering interference from said heads and nuts. For securing said blocks in'position tap-bplts 13 are directed through .theblocks and have their ends threaded into sockets 14 provided therefor in the hub. Said blocks 11 erform, first, the function of preventing dirt, mud and the like from collecting in said"recess; second, the function of revent-ing .the nuts 5 from working oil the bolts 4, and, third, the function of strengthening or supporting the inner ends of the spokes, forming bearings for the latter.

The spokes being of how shape and arranged in pairs with the concave faces thereof disposed in facing relation, it will be'obvious that "a'readily yielding connection is afiorded between the hub and'rim which efiectively' absorbs ,the shocks incident to travel over uneven surfaces.

The remov Land replacement of a spoke may" be rea' Ply accomplished by .the use only of an ord nary'wrench; To effect the removal, the two blocks '11 located on oppositesides of the pair, of which the'spoke posite faces mountedin therecesses in the [ends of the spokes to saidrim, and recessed responding bolts 13 from their sockets 14; then the bolts 4 and bolts 8 which hold the spoke in place are removed, whereupon the spoke may be withdrawn, and a new one Since both ends of each spoke are rigidly held in place it is obvious that all frictional movement which would tend to produce wear and resultant rattling is eliminated.

Having thus described my invention,

by Letters Patent, is

\ 1. A vehicle Wheel comprising a hub having recesses formed in its periphery, said recesses being separated by radially directed ribs, resilient bow-shaped spokes arranged in pairs andfhaving their inner ends received in said recesses and bolted to said ribs, a rim, means for attaching the outer wedge-blocks interposed in the recesses in the hub between adjacent spokes.

2. A vehicle wheel comprising a hub hav ing recesses formed in its peri hery, said recesses being separated by ra ially directed ribs, resilientbow-shaped spokes arranged in pairs and having their inner ends received in said recesses'and bolted to said ribs, a rim, T-shaped plates attached to saidrim, the outer ends of the spokes of each pair being bolted against opposite faces of the stem of a plate, and wedgeshaped blocks having grooves in their opub between adjacent spokes.

3. A vehicle wheel comprising a hub having recesses formed in its periphery, said recesses being separated .by radially directed ribs, resilient bow-shaped spokes arranged in pairs in oppositely facing relation, the inner ends of the spokes composing each pair being received in adjacent recesses in the hub against opposite faces of the intervening rib, bolts securing said ends to said rib, a rim, members secured to said rim and havingv radially directed stems, the outer ends of the spokes composing each pair being. bolted to said stem against its opposite faces, and means interposed between adjacent pairs of spokes for preventing the collection of foreign matter in the recesses in the hub, said means being adapted for insertion withoutinterference from the first above-mentioned bolts. 7

4. A vehicle wheel comprising a hub having recesses formed in its periphery, said recesses being se arated by radially directed ribs, resilient bow-shaped spokes arranged in pairs in oppositely facing relation, the

inner ends of the spokes composing each pair being received in adjacent recesses in the hub against opposite faces of the intervening rib, bolts securing said ends to said rib, a rim, members secured to said rim and having radially directed stems, the outer ends of the spokes composing each pair being bolted to said stem against its opposite faces, and recessed wedge-blocks seated in the recesses in the hub between adjacent spokes, V

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARPER E. STRATTON.

1 Witnesses:

H. E. DUNLAP, BRUCE MORRIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

